Speaking at Aviation Day Africa in Nigeria, Tony Tyler, the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Director General and CEO called on public and private stakeholders to work together to address critical priorities to enable aviation to do more to drive economic growth in Africa.
“Aviation supports 6.7 million jobs and some $68 billion of economic activity in Africa. Those numbers are impressive but I am convinced aviation has an even bigger role to play in providing the connectivity that drives economic growth and development.” “Africa is poised for rapid development and great changes. Half of the top 20 fastest growing economies over the next five years are expected to be on this continent. Aviation’s part in driving growth and development will become even more prominent.” “In order for this to occur, however, Africa must address major challenges in safety, infrastructure, and liberalization.” Infrastructure“Infrastructure costs and charging policy are also hindering African connectivity. Global standards exist to provide guidance on charges, as developed and recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization. These include cost-relatedness, non-discrimination and transparency. It is also recommended that charges be developed in consultation with users. And there should be no pre-financing.”
“Governments must also recognize that every dollar counts. If we average the entire industry’s profits for 2012, airlines retained about $2.50 for every passenger. And African airlines have been basically hovering around break-even for a decade or more. Without sustainable income, airlines cannot expand to meet rising demand and in fact, they may have to reduce services.” Liberalization “Africa’s economic development needs aviation connectivity. And for that to further develop, airlines need to be able to access markets. Ironically, connectivity from Africa to other continents is more developed than connectivity within the continent. From Lagos there are daily flights to Atlanta but not to Dakar or Abidjan—and Lagos is one of the better connected cities in Africa. It is interesting to see that African governments find it somehow easier to expand bilateral arrangements with long-haul trading partners than within the region.”
